Both houses of the Michigan legislature have approved a bill that will allow collection agencies to now employ lawyers in their offices. The bill is headed to Gov. Rick Snyder’s office for his signature to become law. He has 14 days to sign or veto the legislation.
The state Senate approved the bill unanimously earlier this year. The state House of Representatives approved the bill 94-13 last week.
Under previous law, collection agencies were prohibited from employing a lawyer on site. From ACA International:
Under the legislation, a licensee would not be allowed to list the name of an attorney in any written or oral communication, collection letter, or publication in an attempt to collect a debt on behalf of a licensee or affiliate of the licensee unless the attorney is an employee of the licensee and is engaged in collecting claims owned by the licensee or an affiliate of the licensee.
The Michigan Association of Collection Agencies has been lobbying for “decades” to get this law passed, said Scott Idle, president of the state association.
